Day 11: Alcohol Inks on Tile

Let me start by saying that I have never been a huge fan of abstract art. My father is a very literal person and my mother’s art favored the Impressionists, so maybe I just wasn’t really exposed to it when I was growing up. But this challenge is about pushing boundaries, so here we go:

I was trying for an abstract impression of the ocean and I am actually pretty happy with the result. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have used more blue.

Anyway, this is what I did. I took a 4×4 white tile from Home Depot (16 cents each) and applied rubbing alcohol over the entire surface using a sponge brush. I then began dripping the various alcohol inks (I used denim, glass and lettuce) and manipulating the tile until the colors covered the whole tile. I used a little more alcohol in areas where I felt the color wasn’t right and continued manipulating the tile until the desired effect was achieved.

I will admit that I did the inking last night since I knew it would have to dry for several hours before I could apply the acrylic sealer, and I only have limited time this morning before hitting the road. This morning, I applied the sealer (which by the way, helped the colors to really pop) and allowed it to dry. And, you can see the results.

Still not convinced about abstract art, but I am a little more open to trying it again moving forward. What do you think?